Will the English requirement for permanent residence in the UK be raised to B2? How to take the Life in the UK test

Last week, a reader who works as a nurse in Manchester left a message, saying that she would only be five years old in 2028, and she felt at ease until she saw the news that the English requirement for permanent residence would be increased. The first thing she asked was: "The B1 I'm taking now, will it still count then?"

This question is very accurate. Because the answer is: depends on the day you submit your permanent residence application, not the day you took the exam.

When will the English requirements for permanent residence in the UK change from B1 to B2?

On 5 March 2026, the Ministry of Home Affairs submitted a new amendment to the immigration rules (Statement of Changes, No. HC 1691) to Parliament. One of the things that has the greatest impact on the Chinese community is to raise the English language threshold for the permanent residence (ILR/Settlement) stage from CEFR B1 to B2.

The key lies in the effective method: This requirement applies to permanent residence applications submitted on or after March 26, 2027 in . In other words, starting from today (the end of July 2026), there is still a buffer window of approximately 8 months and .

By the way: As early as January 8, 2026, entry applications for Skilled Worker, High Potential Individual, and Scale-up routes have already required B2. Therefore, people who have newly obtained work visas now actually have B2 scores and do not need to retake the test when they apply for permanent residence. Those who really need to be nervous are those old applicants who entered the country with B1 a few years ago and are now waiting in line for 5 years.

How much more difficult is English B2 for permanent residence than B1? Don't be fooled by "just one level worse"

The positioning of B1 in the UK is roughly equivalent to the GCSE level: able to cope with daily conversations, understand instructions, and describe experiences. The official benchmark for B2 is A-Level - you need to be able to make arguments on abstract topics, understand debates at a normal speed, and write well-structured arguments.

What is the difference in reality? Many Chinese who have lived in the UK for seven or eight years have no problem communicating in daily life, but they get stuck when it comes to questions like "expressing opinions on a certain policy and giving reasons". B1 can be passed through life accumulation, B2 usually requires 2–4 months of special preparation for , especially the coherence of speaking and the understanding of long paragraphs in listening.

There is another point that is easily overlooked: the English test for permanent residence must be SELT (Secure English Language Test) recognized by the Ministry of Home Affairs, and can only be taken at designated test centers. Currently recognized providers include IELTS SELT Consortium, Trinity College London, LanguageCert, Pearson, PSI and others. The regular IELTS (non-UKVI version) you took at a language school does not count as - this is a pitfall that people step on every year. Before taking the exam, be sure to check the exam name and test location on GOV.UK’s approved list.

English test exemption for permanent residence in the UK, first check to see if you are included

Not everyone has to take the exam. There are three common categories of exemptions:

🇬🇧 Nationality Exemption : Applicants holding passports from most English-speaking countries (the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and some Caribbean countries, etc.) do not need to provide language scores.

🎓 degree exemption : Hold a British undergraduate degree or above, or an overseas degree certified by Ecctis as "equivalent to a British degree and taught in English". Many Chinese who are studying for a master's degree in the UK are directly exempted from taking the exam through this method - but please note that what you need to submit is a degree certificate or a certification letter issued by Ecctis, not a transcript.

🧓 Age and Health Exemption : Under 18 years old or over 65 years old at the time of application; or have long-term physical or mental health conditions that prevent you from completing the exam (a doctor's certificate is required).

Important reminder: The degree exemption is still valid under the new B2 regulations (the degree itself is higher than the B2 level), so if you have studied a degree in the UK, this new regulation will have basically no impact on you in 2027. This has caused many people to worry in vain for months.

How to take the Life in the UK test 2026? and English requirements are two different things

A common misunderstanding must be clarified here: Life in the UK Test and the English test are two independent requirements and cannot replace each other. Being good at English does not mean that you can pass the general knowledge test, and vice versa.

Current exam rules: 24 multiple-choice questions, 45 minutes, answers 18 questions correctly (75%) to pass , the fee is £50 once. The question bank is all from the third edition of the official textbook "Life in the United Kingdom: A Guide for New Residents", covering British history, political system, legal system, and holiday traditions. If you fail, you can retake the exam, but you will have to pay again each time.

The good news is: if you pass once, it will be valid for life. You can use it once when you apply for permanent residence. You can continue to use it when applying for naturalization in the future. There is no need to retake the exam. Exemptions are similar to English requirements - under 18, 65 and over, and medically documented health conditions.